RIVERS OF NIHIL Confirm Tour Dates Leading Up To Best In Brutality Tour, SXSW

According to Metal Blade Records, RIVERS OF NIHIL have announced a handful of dates leading up to the Best in BrutalityTour with Broken Hope, Oceano, Fallujah, and Kublai Khan. Rivers of Nihil will begin this new campaign in support of “The Conscious Seed of Light” in Fayetteville, NC on March 10th and perform at SXSW in Austin, TX on March 13th before beginning the Best in Brutality Tour on March 18th in Phoenix, AZ. The tour ends on April 19 in Columbus, OH and includes an appearance at the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest in Worcester, MA.

Rivers of Nihil has also announced that drummer Ron Nelson has parted ways with the band. The band has issued a statement and has confirmed Nelson’s replacement:“After five years as Rivers of Nihil we have come to the mutual decision to part ways with our drummer and friend Ron Nelson. Ron is the guy who started this band back in 2009 and most of us have been playing in bands with him since we were sixteen years old. He recorded two EPs and a full length with us, toured all over the country, farted many times in our van, and has left an enormous space to be occupied. Without Ron we absolutely would not be the band (or people) that we are today. Ron will be sorely missed by us and we wish him the best in his future endeavors!

“With the departure of such a monster of a player as Ron we knew that we had to carefully select our newest member; that guy is Alan Balamut. Alan has learned our live set in record time and with frightening accuracy. We are proud to have him as part of the Rivers of Nihil family and we look forward to the times ahead.

“Catch Alan and the rest of us on tour this March and April with Broken Hope, Oceano, Fallujah, and Kublai Kahn on the Best of Brutality tour!”

In other news, Rivers of Nihil vocalist Jake Dieffenbach is featured in the February/March issue of Revolver Magazine. Dieffenbach interviewed Nergal of Behemoth for the magazine’s popular “Rebel Meets Rebel” column. The magazine is on newsstands now.

Rivers of Nihil‘s debut album, “The Conscious Seed of Light,” was recorded in March of 2013 at Mana Recording Studios in Florida with famed metal producer/musician Erik Rutan. While “The Conscious Seed of Light” is not necessarily a concept album traditionally speaking, Rivers of Nihil began their project with the idea that they would release four separate albums tied together with one common theme: each reflecting a particular season of a year. Bassist Adam Biggs elaborates; “The Conscious Seed of Light is intended to be representative of spring and explores various themes concerning new beginnings, growth, and an attachment to the natural world in a post-human Earth. Unlike some concept records however, we wanted to allow each song to work on its own terms. Rather than have the songs rely on each other to move a specific story structure forward; they work within their own separate narratives, but ultimately serve the album’s broader concept.” Rivers of Nihil‘s lineup is rounded out by guitarists Brody Uttley and Jon Kunz.